The Switch Explained | What is the Digital Switchover?
The digital TV switchover is Government policy. It will mean that almost everyone will be able to receive higher quality digital TV through an aerial (Freeview).
Digital TV also uses less broadcast space which means that, after the switchover, there will be more room for new services such as wireless broadband, local TV and High Definition Television (HDTV).
To keep your TV service, you will need to convert your TVs to digital before the switchover date in your area - this doesn't mean you'll need to change your TV, as a set-top box can be added to most existing TVs. For more information about the digital TV switchover, and to check when the service will switch in your area, visit Digital UK
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| UK Digital Switchover: some tips on the switch | 
• If you decide to buy a new TV or recording equipment, look for the
digital tick logo. It means the product is designed to work
during and after switchover.
• Some high definition (HD) TVs may not be digital-ready – look for
the digital tick logo (as here on the right).
• If you are not sure if your HD TV is digital-ready, contact
a trusted retailer or the manufacturer of the TV.
• You do not have to buy a new television set unless you want to - nearly all current TV sets can
be converted by connecting to a digi-box.
• You can test your current aerial to see if it should work with digital Freeview, or needs replacing.
The test pattern is broadcast on Teletext page 284 on BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 and Channel 4 and
page 484 on S4C. You should carry out the test on all channels and under different weather conditions.
Ideally, the screen should display a full grid of vertical/horizontal white boxes. If there are more than
4 squares missing (randomly spaced – complete lines missing are fine) then your aerial needs to
be checked and maybe replaced.
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Analogue Transmitter Shutdown |  The map (courtesy of UK Free.TV) shows the planned shutdown for analogue TV transmissions across the UK. The red areas show the analogue signal coverage; the yellow shows each ITV region and when transmissions will switch to digital in that region. The map turns from red to green to show the spread of digital coverage across the country, through to 2012.
If you are receiving Freeview currently, you will continue to receive the full package of channels after switchover. This is estimated to cover 73% of the UK's population. If you cannot receive Freeview currently, but you watch analogue TV from one of the 80 main transmitters, you will be able to view the whole Freeview package. However, you may need to upgrade your aerial to a wideband type, or relocate a loft-mounted aerial to the roof.
If you are not receiving transmissions from one of the main 80 TV transmitters, you will be able to view the three public service multiplexes after switchover, but you may need a new aerial. This applies to 8.5% of the UK's population, about 5 million people.
The 1.5% of the population (a little under a million people) who do not currently receive terrestrial analogue TV will not be able to receive digital terrestrial TV after switchover [source: UK Free.TV] |
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Digital TV & Radio, 3BGB, PO Box 7337, Reading RG26 9AU, England. Tel: 0118 970 1612
For portable audio and vision products visit Portable Audio World
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Classy solution for upgrading your TV's sound system & adding iPod/MP3 connectivity at the same time
The Divo from IXOS is designed to be a TV sound upgrade with iPod dock. This is a classy-looking piece of kit well suited as an add-on to the latest generation of flat-screen LCD TVs. According to IXOS, "Technological advances have allowed TVs to be designed thinner, with improved picture resolution, but it gives limited space for the speakers, meaning the sound quality suffers. Divo is one of the first high performance music systems to incorporate TV sound upgrade with connections for other popular electronic devices such as iPod™ & iPhone™, MP3 players, smart phones, laptops and gaming consoles."
The system features a separate compact subwoofer. As well as a Universal iPod/iPhone dock, inputs include stereo phono for TV and a 3.5mm auxiliary input at the rear of the docking station for other portable music devices. More at www.ixos.co.uk/divo
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